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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908876">When the Cameras are Cut</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/generic_cruiser/pseuds/generic_cruiser'>generic_cruiser</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Mentions of PTSD, also Daisy hating on Mace, angst? I guess, that's basically it, this is just me being sad over staticquake</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 11:15:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,713</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28908876</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/generic_cruiser/pseuds/generic_cruiser</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After they stop Eli Morrow, Daisy comes back to the base and basically works through trauma. And this time Simmons is the therapist friend.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeffrey Mace &amp; Jemma Simmons, Jeffrey Mace &amp; Skye | Daisy Johnson, Jemma Simmons &amp; Skye | Daisy Johnson, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>When the Cameras are Cut</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Just a quick disclaimer: I am not an expert on PTSD, so I tried to avoid sounding like I was one when I wrote this. If anyone has more knowledge than I do, please feel free to correct me, and I can make edits accordingly. </p>
<p>In other news: I have lots of other fics I want to post, but a lot of them are similar to this one angst-wise. Feel free to offer feedback on this one so I can learn and grow and all that sappy stuff.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daisy wants to scream. Or hit something. Preferably both, maybe at the same time. People keep <em> staring </em> and it’s starting to creep her out. She kind of gets it, she’s been tearing through banks and the Watchdogs for the past seven months, showing up on the news and making S.H.I.E.L.D.’s job all that harder. And now she’s in the exact place she was trying to forget, and people won’t stop staring and calling her Quake and no one seems to realize that this is really fucking hard for her. </p>
<p>Does PTSD happen when you lose someone? Does walking through the halls you walked through with them, seeing them wherever you go, does that count as post traumatic stress? Jemma would probably know. Or May. But Jemma is in a meeting with the director (in all his glory), and Daisy can’t find May anywhere. She wouldn’t put it past her old SO to have some secret room in the base where she can hit things and drink in private. That would be a great place for Daisy right now, but May is either in her secret hideout or off base, and no one will tell Daisy <em> anything. </em> Anyone she asks about May will mutter something about the spectrum of security or some bullshit like that, and then they stare at her. Daisy can’t tell if they’re scared or starstruck, and she can’t decide which is worse. And they will <em> not </em> stop calling her Quake, no matter how many times she says to just fucking call her Daisy.</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>The coffee in the common room sucks now, and Coulson seems to be hiding his espresso stash elsewhere nowadays. And the bench outside the director’s office sucks now too, just a hard metal slab instead of the couch Coulson used to have. And the security guard outside the director’s office will not stop eyeing Daisy like she’s going to quake the building apart, kill everyone and bolt. Which isn’t much of a stretch, considering if this meeting doesn’t end soon Daisy will shoot someone. Preferably the director, that ass. This is all his fault, the whole her being stuck in the base and everyone treating her like a goddamn time bomb.</p>
<p>The door opens, and various suits walk out, eyeing Daisy curiously. They probably know who she is, but if they don’t, they’re probably wondering why she’s dressed like someone’s teenage goth daughter. The clothes were mostly for the vigilante aesthetic, and they also had helped Daisy forget who she was in this place, who she was with Lincoln. Although he would probably have no complaints about her new wardrobe. Daisy prefers to think that, at least. </p>
<p>The suits file by, and Jemma appears behind them, a smile spreading across her face when she spots Daisy. Daisy returns that smile, until she sees the director behind her friend, and the smile vanishes. She can tell that Mace saw, and he frowns, as if Daisy should be elated to see him. Like he’s the second coming of Jesus or some bullshit.</p>
<p>Jemma sits next to Daisy and leans over to examine her coffee mug. She sniffs it, then unceremoniously dumps the contents into the trash can. </p>
<p>“Hey!” Daisy gapes at Jemma as she gets handed back the mug. “I was drinking that!” </p>
<p>Jemma smiles. “I’ve heard Mack complain about the coffee. Can you honestly tell me you were enjoying it?” </p>
<p>Daisy rolls her eyes, but doesn’t bother hiding her smile. “Fine, no, I wasn’t. Whoever bought that coffee either had horrible taste or has no taste buds.”</p>
<p>“I bought that coffee.” </p>
<p>Daisy had honestly forgotten the director was there. She assumes he has better things to do than listen to two agents converse, but maybe Quake is so much of a security risk that her every word must be analyzed or some shit. She had already found and destroyed the bugs in her bunk. Assholes.</p>
<p>Her smile fades, and she cocks her head in a way that she knows from experience will probably piss Mace off, “Well, that explains it.” </p>
<p>Jemma ducks her head to hide her smirk, and Mace’s expression tightens, although he keeps a thin smile plastered on his face. Daisy would like to punch that face. Hard. </p>
<p>Daisy hasn’t spent enough time with Mace to figure out whether she hates him, but she definitely doesn’t like him. He acts eerily like one of her first foster dads: the thin smiles to hide anger, the clipped tone to hide frustration, the kind outer shell directed towards others but never at Daisy. Her foster dad had expected her to treat him like some sort of hero whenever he solved a minor problem, which Mace seemed to be doing now too. He also had the fun bonus of kidnapping Jemma and having her whisked off to serve Senator Nadeer, doing God knows what with that Inhuman she has. And maybe he did it to protect S.H.I.E.L.D., but Daisy can't shake the feeling that there's something <em>more</em> that he's hiding.</p>
<p>She misses Coulson. Not Agent Coulson, who is downstairs, filling out reports, but Director Coulson, who is fair and a good leader and would never be treating Daisy the way Mace is. </p>
<p>But he’s not the director, and the current one is staring at Daisy like she’s a security threat. Even though she only made a comment about coffee (if Coulson was still the director, the coffee would still be good too).</p>
<p>“Is there a reason you were waiting outside my office, Quake?” Mace puts emphasis on the last word, as if he’s fishing for a reaction.</p>
<p>Daisy bristles at the name and stands, moving towards Mace. Jemma makes a mild protest, placing her hand on Daisy’s arm, but she knows better than to try to stop her. Instead, she removes the coffee mug from Daisy’s hand, probably to make sure she doesn’t break it over Mace’s head.</p>
<p>“You can call me Agent Johnson, or just Johnson. No one calls me Quake, got it?” </p>
<p>Mace stares, and although he tries to hide it, his shock is evident in how his eyes widen the slightest bit, and how his arms tense. Daisy was trained by the fucking Cavalry, Mace is child’s play. Most politicians are. Why the fuck should she be afraid of him?</p>
<p>“What about Daisy?” Mace’s voice is tight with suppressed frustration. It makes her smile a bit. </p>
<p>“You,” Daisy backs up to the bench, “don’t get to call me Daisy.” </p>
<p>Mace’s smile tightens and turns into a hard glare. His security goon, who had melted into the shadows, returns, hand on his side arm. </p>
<p>Daisy turns to him. “Relax, dude, I’m not going to hurt your boss. If he can’t take a little lip, then that’s his problem, not mine.” </p>
<p>Jemma stands and turns to Mace, plastering a smile on her face. To anyone else it looks genuine, but Daisy can tell that Jemma wants to smack the director as much as she does. It makes her smile even more.</p>
<p>“Sir, I believe Daisy was waiting for me. So if we could go, I can help her…?” Simmons phrases the last part as a question, but her face looks determined, like she’ll leave even if Mace says she can’t. Daisy’s smile widens.</p>
<p>Mace nods slowly, and gestures to his goon to back off. Daisy smirks at the director, determined to let him know how little power he has over her. It works; Mace steps back from Daisy a little bit as if she’s more powerful than him. Which she is, and Daisy sure as hell won’t let Mace forget it. </p>
<p>~</p>
<p>“So, what can I do for you Daisy?” </p>
<p>They’re in Daisy’s bunk now, though she would prefer it if they were in Jemma’s. This room hasn’t been touched since Daisy left it, which is somehow worse than someone else using it. Somehow everything reminds her of Lincoln, even something small, like the lamp on her desk (he had made fun of it, saying it looked like the Pixar lamp). It only makes what she wants to ask Jemma that much harder to say. </p>
<p>“I was wondering...can you get PTS or something from being back in the place where someone you love dies…” Daisy’s voice breaks, betraying her.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to start crying after that. Daisy’s tears are silent but still overwhelming. Jemma doesn’t even notice for a minute, until she realizes that Daisy’s stopped talking. </p>
<p>“Oh, Daisy. C’mon, sit.” Jemma leads Daisy over to the bed, rubbing her back. </p>
<p>This was probably a long time coming, this overwhelming burst of emotion. Daisy has been holding it all back since she left the base, determined to forget. But being back, where every hallway reminds her of Lincoln, it breaks the dam she’s been so desperately building over the past six months. The base still feels like home, even with everyone treating Daisy like a criminal. Even without Lincoln. It would be easier if it was unwelcoming and unfamiliar, but the base never will be.</p>
<p>She doesn’t know how long they sit there, Jemma rubbing her back, Daisy’s quiet sobs echoing around the room. Somehow this is more comforting than being surrounded by her friends in the common room, drinking and laughing. Somehow this steadfast assurance that someone is here for her is what calms Daisy down long enough to grab a water bottle and guzzle half of it. Jemma smiles, then switches on the TV, paging through channels until she finds some shitty chick flick for them to get lost in. Just like they used to. </p>
<p>Daisy pulls out a small compact mirror and observes the mascara and eyeshadow running down her face. She wipes more tears away, making the makeup even messier. “Gah. If only everyone could see the amazing Quake now. Maybe it would make them less terrified.” </p>
<p>Jemma laughs quietly. “Nah. You look even more badass and mysterious with all the runny makeup.” </p>
<p>Daisy’s surprised at how easy her laugh comes. She settles down next to her friend, and decides right then to let herself be an agent again, to be happy. It’s what Lincoln would want. Plus, more time to make Jeffery Mace’s life miserable. (Lincoln would probably like that too)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have a series that I've been working on for about a month because coronavirus y'know, so please lmk if you would come back for chapters and stuff.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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